Rocketry and The Space Race

Overview How developments in rocketry made space exploration possible How the Cold War led to a race in space Chapter 7, Lesson 2

What did Robert Goddard do to pursue his dream of spaceflight? Quick Write What did Robert Goddard do to pursue his dream of spaceflight? Chapter 7, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA

Rocketry Made Space Exploration Possible Before people could explore space, they needed a way to get there The rocket proved to be the vehicle that broke Earth’s bounds People have built rockets for centuries When big thinkers like Robert Goddard began to dream of spaceflight, they turned again to rockets Chapter 7, Lesson 2

Rocketry Before the 20th Century The first rockets had nothing to do with space exploration The Chinese had rockets by around 1000 and used them in battle In 1405 a German engineer made a rocket propelled by gunpowder France, India, and Britain also used rockets in war But even with improvements, rockets weren’t used much in war Chapter 7, Lesson 2

Contributions of Robert Goddard During the early years of the 20th century, scientists began to think of another use for rockets: spaceflight Goddard continued to do pioneering research on liquid-fuel rockets He also developed ways to steer rockets And he created the foundation on which the space age was built Chapter 7, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA

Hermann Oberth Hermann Oberth (1894–1989) was another rocket pioneer of the 20th century As a student, Oberth wrote a dissertation on rocket-powered flight His professors rejected the paper in 1922 But Oberth didn’t give up: the following year he published the paper under the title “By Rocket to Space” It became a popular classic Chapter 7, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA

German V-1 and V-2 Rockets The German V-1 rocket was the first guided missile used in war The Germans introduced it near the end of World War II The V-2 was the world’s first ballistic missile The V–2 rocket was the model for rockets that the United States and the Soviet Union would later use in their space-exploration programs Chapter 7, Lesson 2

Wernher von Braun The V-2 was the brainchild of Dr. Wernher von Braun He was an engineer the German Army recruited to work on its missile program At the end of the war, Von Braun made a deal with the Allies The Allies brought V-2s, whole or in pieces, home for study For 15 years Von Braun worked with the US Army to develop ballistic missiles Chapter 7, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA

Principles of Rocketry Certain laws of physics govern rocket propulsion, flight, and control Rocketry is based on the propelling of a vehicle by a reactive force The action of the rocket’s exhaust gases produces a reaction This forces the rocket to move in the opposite direction Chapter 7, Lesson 2

Rockets and Newton’s Laws The first law concerns overcoming inertia—the tendency for a body at rest to stay at rest until some force acts on it To get a rocket off a launch pad, the force (thrust) in pounds must be greater than the weight of the rocket Chapter 7, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA

Rockets and Newton’s Laws Newton’s second law of motion says that the amount of force needed to make an object move depends on its mass The more mass a body has, the more force is needed to make it move Chapter 7, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA

Rockets and Newton’s Laws Newton’s third law is essential to making rockets go This law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction If you’ve ever blown up a balloon, then released it and watched it zip across the room, you’ve experienced this law in action The force of the air escaping from one end of the balloon pushes it in the opposite direction Chapter 7, Lesson 2

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction Newton’s Third Law For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction Chapter 7, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA

Designing a Rocket Engine In designing a rocket engine, an aerospace engineer wants two things: Pressure as high as possible in the combustion chamber And, as much acceleration as possible of exhaust particles through the throat and nozzle Today’s military space rockets are made up of four major systems: Airframe, Propulsion, Guidance, and Control Chapter 7, Lesson 2

Airframe The airframe contains the other three systems and provides the streamlined shape An airframe has to stand up to heat, stress, and vibration But it also has to be as light as possible Chapter 7, Lesson 2

Propulsion The propulsion system includes: Propellant containers for the propellant the plumbing needed to get the propellant from the containers to the engine and the rocket engine itself Propellant is the fuel that gives the rocket its thrust (liquid or solid) Chapter 7, Lesson 2

Guidance A large rocket’s guidance system is its “brain” It includes a computer and an inertial platform—a collection of sensing devices It may also include a star-tracking system for space navigation The computer holds instructions for the rocket’s course The rocket also has a radio link in case the onboard systems fail Chapter 7, Lesson 2

Control The control system’s job is to carry out the orders of the guidance system Some elements are like those of an airplane But once a rocket gets up into space, where the air is thin, it needs other ways of steering One way to change a rocket’s flight path is to redirect its exhaust stream Another way is to fire up small rockets attached to the airframe Chapter 7, Lesson 2

How the Cold War Led to a Race in Space After World War II, differences between the United States and the Soviet Union became clear The two countries entered a long period known as the Cold War The two countries faced off in a global power struggle—American democracy versus Soviet totalitarianism In the Cold War, space was a crucial arena of competition Chapter 7, Lesson 2

How the Space Race Started Many people think the space race began on Friday, 4 October 1957, when the Soviets launched Sputnik 1 A US effort to launch a tiny satellite called Vanguard was in the works But work was behind schedule Sputnik 1 was the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite Sputnik 1 Chapter 7, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA

The Significance of Sputnik Sputnik 1 spent only three months in orbit But it greatly worried Americans Then on 3 November 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik 2 Meanwhile American scientists scrambled to get a Vanguard satellite into space But four miles up, the launch vehicle exploded Chapter 7, Lesson 2

The Significance of Explorer Then Wernher von Braun entered the picture He had a plan for something called Project Explorer On 31 January 1958 a Juno 1 booster carrying Explorer 1 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida The United States hadn’t been first off the mark But it was still in the space race Chapter 7, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA

How NASA was Established The White House and the US Congress wanted a permanent federal space agency President Dwight Eisenhower didn’t want the military to take the lead in space He preferred a civilian space agency Congress supported his idea and passed a law creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Chapter 7, Lesson 2 Courtesy of whitehouse.gov

NASA NASA began operations on 1 October 1958 The Space Act of 1958 commits the United States to peaceful purposes in space But the United States reserves the right to use space systems for military deterrence The military continued to play an important role in space, even after the creation of NASA In 1982 the Air Force created Space Command Chapter 7, Lesson 2

Winning the Space Race For many Americans, winning the space race was a matter of national security The decade of the 1960s would determine whether the agency Congress created was up to the task Chapter 7, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA

Review The rocket proved to be the vehicle that broke Earth’s bounds Robert Goddard created the foundation on which the space age was built Hermann Oberth was another rocket pioneer of the 20th century After World War II, German engineer Wernher Von Braun worked with the US Army to develop ballistic missiles Chapter 7, Lesson 2

Review Certain laws of physics govern rocket propulsion, flight, and control Today’s military space rockets are made up of four major systems: airframe, propulsion, guidance, and control In the Cold War, space was a crucial arena of competition The Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1 was the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite Chapter 7, Lesson 2

Review On 31 January 1958 US satellite Explorer 1 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida Congress passed a law creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA began operations on 1 October 1958 For many Americans, winning the space race was a matter of national security Chapter 7, Lesson 2

Summary How developments in rocketry made space exploration possible How the Cold War led to a race in space Chapter 7, Lesson 2

Project Mercury Astronauts Next…. Done—rocketry and the space race Next—the space program Project Mercury Astronauts Chapter 7, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA